Epiphany Plunge, Belarus

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Epiphany Plunge, Belarus

Photograph by Viktor Drachev, AFP/Getty Images

A Belarus Orthodox believer plunges into icy water as a priest blesses him on the eve of the Epiphany holiday in Pilnitsa, some 18 miles outside Minsk. Water blessed by a cleric on Epiphany is considered holy and to have special powers of protection.